Lifestyle makes college students likely to suffer eye strain
Special from Uwire.com
Abby Gabrys
Issue date: 3/8/06 Section: News
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The typical college student spends countless hours reading textbooks and staring at a computer screen. An eye-opening problem that is caused by these daily activities is known as eye strain and may affect many college students.
Eye strain can be caused by concentrating on tasks such as reading, working at the computer or watching television for any length of time. During this time, the inner eye muscles tighten up and may cause the eyes to get irritated, dry and uncomfortable.
"Eye strain occurs when you over-use your eye muscles. People literally say that their eyes feel strained and tired," John Couillard, an optometrist in Bloomington, Ill., said.
In addition, other symptoms may include headaches or blurry vision.
Couillard said that any muscle held in one position too long will strain, including the eyes.
"It can be compared to working out at the gym. If someone is doing a bicep curl and holds it for awhile, it is going to hurt. The same goes for the eyes," Couillard said.
People such as college students, attorneys and accountants are especially prone to over-using their eyes since they frequently read and work with computers.
Adrienne Andeen, an Illinois State University freshman social work major, said that she has experienced eye strain but did not realize it was an actual condition.
"My eyes start to feel really heavy after staring at the computer and the screen starts to look blurry after awhile," Andeen said. "I've become addicted to looking up things on the internet, then when I'm finally done using my computer for the day everything else starts to look a little fuzzy," she added.
The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health reports that at least 60 million workers experienced symptoms of eyestrain while working at a computer more than three hours a day.
"Jobs today work with computers for hours at a time. In past generations, people didn't sit in front of computers for long periods of time," Couillard said.
Eye strain can be caused by concentrating on tasks such as reading, working at the computer or watching television for any length of time. During this time, the inner eye muscles tighten up and may cause the eyes to get irritated, dry and uncomfortable.
"Eye strain occurs when you over-use your eye muscles. People literally say that their eyes feel strained and tired," John Couillard, an optometrist in Bloomington, Ill., said.
In addition, other symptoms may include headaches or blurry vision.
Couillard said that any muscle held in one position too long will strain, including the eyes.
"It can be compared to working out at the gym. If someone is doing a bicep curl and holds it for awhile, it is going to hurt. The same goes for the eyes," Couillard said.
People such as college students, attorneys and accountants are especially prone to over-using their eyes since they frequently read and work with computers.
Adrienne Andeen, an Illinois State University freshman social work major, said that she has experienced eye strain but did not realize it was an actual condition.
"My eyes start to feel really heavy after staring at the computer and the screen starts to look blurry after awhile," Andeen said. "I've become addicted to looking up things on the internet, then when I'm finally done using my computer for the day everything else starts to look a little fuzzy," she added.
The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health reports that at least 60 million workers experienced symptoms of eyestrain while working at a computer more than three hours a day.
"Jobs today work with computers for hours at a time. In past generations, people didn't sit in front of computers for long periods of time," Couillard said.